Snowflakes
by LuckySmarts
Summary: Random TenxRose fic. When the TARDIS coincidentally can't bring Rose to meet Mickey for a date, she ends up on a frigid planet with the Doctor instead. Rated T even though I doubt it'll get that far. Just fluff and stuff. :)
1. Chapter 1

"It's funny that the TARDIS wouldn't bring me to the right time for my date with Mickey. I'll have to explain to him later."

"Errh, yeah. That was a bit funny. Sure he won't mind a bit though. Now come on. Follow me."

A soft sigh from Rose. "I'm coming, Doctor."

He sprung out of the TARDIS cheerfully, glancing back at her with a grin on his face. "I've never taken you here, have I? Don't answer that. I know I haven't. And before you ask- we're on the planet of Frilanidia, northern side, quite a bit chilly, so put on your gloves. If we're lucky, we'll get some fresh snowflakes." He kicked at the stale snow on the ground. Rose did as he said, stepping behind him. "Soooo...why're we here, exactly?" she asked, coming up beside him. He glanced down at her, eyes bright. "Because we can go here, silly. Much better than a little date down in London with your boyfriend, yeah?" She hated to agree with him, and felt a little guilty, but gave him a 'yeah'. He grinned. "Brilliant. You'll love it, promise. Stay out of the way of the snow leopards, though." "Oka-wait, the what?" He paused, tilting his head. "Weeeeelllll. They're not snow leopards, exactly. But they've got matching fangs and pretty little spots just like them. Only difference is that these things- don't call 'em snow leopards, might bug them a bit, call them Uncias- are as big as a nice old school bus and they've got six legs. Charming creatures, that lot." Rose gulped. "Errrrr...you think we can go without meeting them?" He gave her a teasing smirk. "Aw, afraid of making new friends, are we?"

After several hours of trekking through the mountains encrusted with a thin layer of slush, fresh snow began to fall, as the Doctor had predicted. Unfortunately, it was more than a light dusting- it came down fast and heavily, and the Time Lord and his companion squinted through the flakes, hands shoved deep into their pockets. To Rose's relief, they had yet to come across the creatures the Doctor had mentioned. "Err...Doctor? When will we go back to the TARDIS?" she asked. She didn't mean to be rude, but it was getting a bit too nippy for her. "Um...weeell..." the Doctor's breath fogged in the air. "Depends on when and if we can _find_ the TARDIS." She blinked. He was right. They had walked miles, and it was snowing, and they were...pretty lost. "You really need to bring a map next time." she muttered, but he just grinned jovially. "Oh, don't worry, Rose. We'll find somewhere to stay for the night and get back to good old TARDIS in the morning."


	2. Chapter 2

"D...D...Doc..tor..?"  
>"Y...yeah?"<br>"We're...not..gunna find a place to spend the night...are we?"  
>"...Probably..not, I'm afraid."<br>Several more hours had passed, and even the cold-resistant Doctor was growing weary, snowflakes clinging to the tips of his spiky hair. Rose was shivering uncontrollably, and though she didn't want to worry him, her fingers had gotten numb.  
>"Doctor...we need...to warm up...we're gonna freeze..." she said with a note of terror, finally voicing her worries.<br>The Doctor reluctantly nodded. Rose didn't even have a warm enough jacket. "O..Okay. If we can make it till morning...we'll be fine Rose, you'll see, we'll have hot chocolate when we get back to TARDIS." She said nothing, starting to shake. His snow-encrusted eyebrows furrowed and he came to her side, putting his arms gently around her. "Hey. Okay. We'll stop. I know what to do, because I'm your Doctor, see? I'll make it okay, like always. it's okay, Rose." She gave a shivering nod, teeth chattering. "Yeah...alright." He grinned. "Good. Okay." He blinked and looked around. There really was no shelter. With a small sigh, he crouched over the three feet or so of snow and began to dig a hole with his frozen hands. Holes were good for containing body heat, he was pretty sure. Or maybe it was blankets. Did he need blankets in the hole? Well, he didn't have them, so he'd have to apologize to whatever manual he'd gotten that idea from later.

"Rose. Come lie with me. If we lie really close together, our body heat will keep us warm. It's okay. I won't let the leopards getcha."  
>Rose curled beside him, and he buttoned his trenchcoat so she was inside it with him. "Okay. Shhh. Go to sleep now. You'll be okay, you're very strong," he soothed, pulling her tight against him. She pressed her face into his neck, too tired and afraid and downright freezing to be embarassed. "G'night Doctor." she mumbled. He smiled. "Goodnight, Rose Tyler." He watched as she fell asleep slowly against him.<br>"My Rose Tyler." he added in a whisper when he was sure she wouldn't hear.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun rose early in the morning, casting a golden light over the fallen flakes. The Doctor and Rose were safe and sound under a thin layer of snow, Rose snuggled against the Doctor, the Doctor's arms tightly around her, a small smile on his sleeping face. Native birds, little bluish-white owl-like creatures, made their strange whistling, cooing calls and fluttered through the air.

The Doctor stirred slightly, blinking drowsily, his ruffled hair damp and his feet freezing in his maroon Converses. He pressed closer to her with a contented sigh. His Rose. Here with him. Would she be so happy if she had known that the TARDIS could have brought her to Mickey easily, that he had really just wanted her to..well, numero uno, to not go on a date with_ Mickey _(so what he was her boyfriend..he was pretty obnoxious.), and number two, to stay with him. Be his. Just for once. She was always with him, but always planning, for a future, her own life.

Rose was sound asleep but snuggled against him and he smiled, his half-closed eyes crinkling. He loved her. So much. But he could never tell her, never find the time, and besides, she was happy with Mickey. Not him.

Rose blinked awake and seemed surprised to have the Time Lord holding her so close, well, she did have reason to be surprised. "Doctor?" she mumbled. He blushed. "You're awake. Finally. See, I told you we'd be fine, we just had to stay close together..." he continued to rattle on for a good minute, Rose tolerating his babbling.

"So um. We can find TARDIS and..go back today." he said quietly. She nodded. "Maybe TARDIS will be able to bring me to the right time now, so Mickey isn't upset." His smile wavered "...Yeah. Yeah, maybe."


	4. Chapter 4

It was a little awkward for the both of them, the Doctor unbuttoning his trenchcoat reluctantly so she could get out. They both shivered when they were away from eachother. Luckily, no new snow was falling, but it was still freezing.

Rose stepped away awkwardly and the Doctor swallowed, looking down. It had been a stupid idea. To think someone like her could love someone like him.

As they started to walk, back in the direction they (assumed) led to the TARDIS, he started to rattle on again about the Uncias, the bus-sized leopards. "They're really pretty, but from a distance. Did I tell you about how they inject you with venom before they kill you? It does two things- one, it makes you tired and slow. So you can't get away, no matter how hard you try. And the second thing- it's unclear why this happens, but there's an element to the venom that works like a truth serum." She looked at him. "Why would they need that? Do they ask you something before they eat you?" she joked. He took this as a serious question and shrugged. "Dunno. It's highly improbable their majorly undeveloped vocal cords would be capable, unless they're also telepathic and have fairly advanced brains..." he mused.

An hour later, they were still trekking along on the search for the TARDIS when the Doctor froze, looking down. "Hey! What's this from? It's almost like a pit." Rose said, the glanced forward. "And there's four little smaller pits."

The Doctor shook his head, starting to back up. "Rose. Be very very careful and don't make any sudden movements or loud noises. It is also suggested that you do not trip or fall."

"Er, Doctor, what's happening?"

"That's not a pit. That, Rose Tyler, is a pawprint."


	5. Chapter 5

Rose gave a little gasp and they both backed up rapidly. From ahead, there was the sound of snow crunching heavily, the sound a snowplow makes when it goes down the street.

"...Maybe if we don't disturb it it won't turn back around." said the Doctor.

But the thudding continued, drawing closer and closer, both of them frozen, peering around the edge of the cliff.

It wasn't long before a huge, terrifyingly huge cat face peered around from the other direction.

"RUN!" yelled the Doctor, grabbing her hand and tugging her along in a panic. Rose actually did not need to be told to run, and was sensible enough to do it on her own. His long legs and her short ones skidded on the ice as they panicked, sprinting off.

Rose gave him a single glance to see he was grinning madly. What was wrong with him?

"Just...come on, Rose! We need to get into the cave thing up that way, it can't get us there!"

He was right. The opening was narrow. They might be stuck there for a while, but it would give up and leave eventually.

Rose's heart had never pounded so fast, and the Time Lord's hearts had a pretty quick beat themselves as they half-ran, half-slipped. It was surprisingly not very fast, the Doctor had noticed it looked pretty old but had decided Rose was too panicked to really hold an intelligent discussion and appreciate this fact.

He dragged her along, almost at the mouth of the cave. "COME ON!"

She gave a last glance over her shoulder to see the Uncia rearing up, baring its fangs. And then she saw something tiny, almost like a needle but white, be projected out of the center of a fang.

_Truth serum. Sedatives. _Rose thought.

She watched as it hit the Doctor square in the middle of his back.


End file.
